1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of speech applications, and in particular, to a greatly simplified method for creating dictation macros.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the most important features of a dictation system is the ability to create dictation macros. Dictation macros allow the user to create blocks of text that are used over and over again. For example, users might want to create macros for their E-mail addresses or land addresses. Using dictation macros can speed up repetitive dictation. However, creating dictation macros has typically not been very easy.
In today's speech systems a user must go to a dictation macro utility to create a dictation macro. A graphical user interface (GUI) screen like that shown in FIG. 4 is displayed to the user. The list includes the definition of every dictation macro in the speech application's recognition engine. The screen also includes five pull down menus. The user then chooses Create Macro from the Edit menu and the dialog box shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. The dialog box shown in FIG. 5 must be used to create the kind of definition shown in FIG. 4. It can be seen that, in addition to a macro text typing field and a macro name typing field, two Vocabulary categories, namely All and Continuous General Dictation, as well as eight activatable button icons must be mastered. Several of the button icons invoke further dialogs or functions.
A novice user can find such a utility to be very intimidating. There is a long felt need for a simpler method to create dictation macros.